Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich has revealed that the band have over 700 recorded guitar riffs to sort through for their new album.

The 'St. Anger' star explained that the group's frontman James Hetfield has recorded a mass of new material and conceded that the band will not be able to use it all.

"James told me in Australia that he had over 700 new riffs. That was slightly overwhelming. It's kind of frightening," Ulrich told Metal Hammer magazine.

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"James is not allowed to play guitar without being recorded. Literally! There are also hours and hours of jams and tuning-room shindigs.

"We're gonna sit down and wade through two-and-a-half years' worth of riffs and jams and hopefully a lot of the seeds for the next Metallica record will be in that. We can use the rest of the riffs for ringtones or, I don't know, set up a web site - SpareRiffs.com."